There's a sobering article in the NY Times about the effectiveness of "safe haven laws". Safe haven laws allow babies to be abandoned at police stations, fire houses, and hospitals with no questions asked, instead of unwanted babies being killed by parents who are scared and worried. In 2006, six dead babies were found due to abandonment, which is twice as many as last year; one of the more notable cases was the dead newborn found while recycling plant workers were sorting through items. more ›

Since the e. coli scare began, our spinach and leafy green consumption has gone from zero servings a day to, well, zero servings a day. But our more herbivorous readers may be sad to see that officials still haven't found how a bacteria that normally romps around our bowels made its way to our favorite iron-filled flora. The Times reports that the outbreak of the past few weeks, which may have killed as many as three people and poisoned almost 200 others (including plenty of kids and 11 New Yorkers), is currently without a clear source and may always remain without one. This is in spite of the fact that officials have localized the center of the outbreak to the California counties of Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Clara. more ›